Saratoga: Saginaw dominates in John Morrissey

Tom Keyser

Saginaw, with David Cohen riding, pulls away to win the John Morrissey.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Back with New York-breds, Saginaw was back in the winner's circle Wednesday at Saratoga, dominating the $100,000 John Morrissey Stakes by five lengths.

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Be Bullish won a three-way scramble for second by a nose over Mine Over Matter, who got third by a neck over Uncle T Seven.

Saginaw was making his first start since finishing last in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park on May 28. Before that, Saginaw had won two New York-bred stakes by a combined 10 1/2 lengths as part of a five-race winning streak that began in a claiming race at Aqueduct on March 8.

David Jacobson, the trainer and part-owner of Saginaw, freshened Saginaw after the Met Mile and had the 6-year-old gelding by Peruvian ready to roll.

Jockey David Cohen did a nice job getting Saginaw off the rail and just to the outside of the pacesetting Dr Disco. Saginaw tracked Dr Disco through a quarter in 22.32 seconds and a half-mile in 44.83 before taking the lead just outside the quarter pole. In the stretch, Saginaw gradually pulled away, running 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.17 and returning $7.30 as the second choice.

Bandbox, the 2-1 favorite shipping in from Maryland, finished fifth.

"That horse wasn't right today," Jacobson said of Bandbox. "If that horse was right it would have been a good race. Saginaw, he'll be the favorite next time."

Jacobson isn't sure what is next for Saginaw, but it could be at this meet and could be soon.

"We'll try to get him back into the form that he had in his last campaign - try to run him back every 10 or 11 days. He seems to like that," Jacobson said. "He'll tell us. It's not up to me, it's up to the horse."